


The Key To Heart's Contentedness

by RedellaRed2001



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Basically this is my alternative to Malec meeting, F/M, M/M, enjoy at will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 09:02:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18279983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedellaRed2001/pseuds/RedellaRed2001
Summary: Magnus thought his life was pretty great. He was content, he hadn't a care in the world and he kept as far out of Shadowhunter business as he could get.Alec wasn't sure what he was doing, he just knew that it had to be the right thing. That's why he followed Jace when he was on his wild goosechase with Clary. That was why he helped Simon Lewis, even though the kid was more trouble than he was worth.Sometimes 'pretty great' and getting by on doing the right thing aren't enough, and these two figure that out rather anticlimactically.They bump into each other at the park, and their love story begins.





	The Key To Heart's Contentedness

The day Maxwell came into his life, Magnus Bane's whole world changed for the better. Catarina had walked into his loft, a cotton blanket bunched up in her arms and a small clenched fist grasping her blouse. The poor thing had been abandoned in a ratty old car seat outside the hospital and she'd been lucky enough to see him before any of the other nurses had caught sight of his warlock marks — just as good, really, considering they consisted of glaringly obvious deep blue skin and tiny pearly white horns poking through silky black curls.

It wasn't unusual for warlock children to be abandoned, as heart-breaking as it was to admit, by their mundane mothers. The vast amount of Orphanages designed to house warlock children were never even half empty. Often, their birth mothers became horrified at the sight of them, thinking they'd birthed the devil or whatever else when their warlock marks revealed themselves. Some children were lucky. They’d get few years with a mother that loved them if their marks were less obvious, but it was rare.

Catarina, having ducked out of her shift for an early lunch in order to rush off with the baby warlock, had only come to him to ask if he could shelter the young one until she could contact the closest Orphanage. Since taking Madzie in after Iris Rouse involved herself in underhanded dealings that ended up with her being arrested by the Clave, she didn't have the space for another kid, especially one that would require as much hands-on attention as a newborn. Her job wasn't compatible with a baby.

Not that that mattered, in the end.

One look at that blue little bundle of joy was all it took for Magnus to fall in love and, really, that was that. He'd told her on the spot he'd keep him. 

The whole incident happened almost a year ago and it had been the best year of Magnus's life. Until he'd become Max's guardian, he hadn't understood why any warlock would feel as though they had been cheated by their inability to have children. It had seemed so ridiculous to him. They were immortal. They could manipulate their surroundings with a flick of their wrist. There wasn't a living person on the planet who could retain as much first-hand knowledge about the past, present and future as they could (the Night Children didn't count, due to the fact they weren't _technically_ living). He couldn't ever understand where those of his kind found their lives lacking. 

It wasn’t until that first night that Magnus finally understood what they meant. 

Catarina had left a travel cot for Max to sleep in but Magnus, having never used such a contraption, hadn't trusted anything that simply unfolded before being ready to place a child in. Instead, he'd placed the baby in a bundle of soft blankets on his bed. Max - too young to move around too much on his own - seemed content to lay there amongst the bed sheets, blinking up at Magnus with his little fist clasped tight around Magnus's finger. 

Magnus hadn't felt so at ease in a long time. He'd spent hours just watching Max even after the boy had fallen asleep. Spent hours admiring the blue shades of his skin, noticing it was a bit lighter on his ears and nose. He'd run his fingertips through the thin, dark hair on his head lightly and noted how his eyelashes were exactly the same colour. There was something about lying there with a child who immediately felt comfortable enough in his presence to fall asleep without any fuss that made Magnus feel honoured. In that moment he'd sworn to never betray the trust placed in him by that little boy.

The innocence of children and their ability to love and trust so easily was part of what made being a parent such an empowering thing. Knowing that it was only your voice that soothed them, that it was you they cried for when distressed. Knowing that you were the one they trusted to care for them and protect them above all other things...

There was nothing in the world that could make Magnus feel the way he felt when he held Max in his arms. 

Telling Catarina he'd take his little Blueberry in was the best decision he ever made, even if it had meant abandoning his previous lifestyle. Every change he made was worth it.

His guest bedroom, previously a workroom, was redecorated to become a nursery. The excessive amount of alcohol he'd had in the loft was disposed of - seriously, he hadn't realised how much alcohol he actually owned until he was clearing it all out - and replaced with formula. His nightlife now consisted of rocking his son to sleep before relaxing with the occasional glass of wine while watching Project Runway reruns instead of Downworlder clubs and shots. Similarly, he spent his days entertaining a baby, sometimes taking walks in the park, clouded in glamour, instead of taking on conspicuous clients and engaging in borderline infractions against the Clave. 

Now, almost a month away from Maxwell's first birthday, Magnus couldn't have been happier with his life. Keeping out of trouble had never been so good for him as it was now. 

"Have you decided what you want to do for Max's birthday yet?" 

Catarina sat across from him with a ceramic tea cup held in her hands as if she was trying to warm them. Her mint blouse complimented her skin tone perfectly and added a pop of colour to her outfit. She wore dark denim, skinny jeans and a pair of black knee-high boots, her handbag abandoned on the floor by her chair. Her face, kept clear by her hair being pulled up into a neat bun on top of her head, seemed to glow with contentedness.

It was her only day off that week, so they'd decided to bring the children out for lunch at Catarina's favourite cafe - Magnolia's. 

Magnolia's was a quaint little cafe owned by a lovely old lady whose mother had owned the place before her. It had a slight French theme to it, what with the creme colour scheme and vast amount of greenery around the place. It had huge floor-to-ceiling windows, which always cast the nicest lighting around the cafe at midday when the sun was at its highest. The whole place smelled of freshly baked goods and coffee.

Since it was rather warm: thanks to the clear skies and bright sunshine: they'd chosen to sit out the front. The table they acquired was tucked underneath the red and white striped awning enough that they wouldn't be blinded by sunlight while they ate. 

"Not yet. I can't quite decide between throwing an extravagant party or spending the day at the park." Magnus confessed, glancing at the highchair beside him to make sure Max hadn't decided to wear his food instead of eating it. It had become a regular occurrence to find bits of food stuck to his son during meal times once he'd started to gain more and more fine and gross motor skills.

"I'm not sure a one year old would appreciate an extravagant party, Magnus." Catarina replied as she lifted the tea cup to her lips to take a sip.

"Who said it was for him?" He retorted, raising a pencilled-in eyebrow at her, "Children are lovely, but they don't leave much time to socialise."

Catarina rolled her eyes, placing her cup back on the ceramic saucer, "It's his birthday. Surely the day should be about him."

"He'll be one. He's hardly going to remember his birthday." Magnus said, leaning over to brush a lock of black hair from Max's face. Max ignored him, too focused on shuffling pieces of banana around his plate.

Magnus retracted his hand and shifted his attention to Madzie, who sat very quietly beside Catarina with her colouring book in front of her and a purple crayon in her hand. The little girl scribbled away without a care in the world, having left the slice of chocolate cake that the waitress had bought over a few minutes ago on the table beside her. The polka dot neck scarf around her throat went rather well with her red sundress and white shoes. She'd gathered quite a collection of neck scarves over the years, what with her gills attracting a lot of... negative attention, but she didn't seem to mind them. Catarina had plaited her hair today, a look that suited Madzie perfectly.

"What about you, Madzie?" Magnus addressing her directly gained her attention. She raised her head slowly, holding his gaze as he spoke to her, "What do you think we should do for Max's birthday?"

Madzie glanced at Catarina, waiting until Catarina smiled encouragingly before she opened her mouth to reply, "Do we get to come?" 

"If you'd like." 

Madzie, still so shy despite having been with Catarina for three years now, frowned for a moment. She looked at Max as if examining him and then turned her gaze back to Magnus, "Can we go to the park? There's lots of stuff for Max to do there."

Magnus smiled at her and nodded. He then waved his hand dramatically as he turned to look at Catarina, "There you have it. We'll go to the park after all."

"So, we shall." Catarina said, nudging the small plate with Madzie's cake on it towards her, "Eat your cake, _mi amor_. I expect Max will want a nap soon."

She was probably right about that. Though Max slept soundly most nights, he was still particularly unsettled during the day if he missed his nap. He was a quiet, but sleepy child. Too sleepy, Catarina might have said. As far as Magnus was concerned, the boy had the right idea. If he could get away with sleeping that much, Magnus would feel far more refreshed on a day to day basis than he averagely did.

"Oh!" Magnus exclaimed, an idea coming to him suddenly, "Do you think Ragnor would want to come?"

Catarina laughed for a solid two minutes before she attempted to reply, "You think - You _honestly_ think-" She breathed in and out deeply, "Oh Magnus, darling, you know Ragnor would rather cut his own horn off than hang around a park filled with children."

That was true. Ragnor Fell was many things, but a lover of children he was not. The first time he'd met Max, he'd looked Magnus in the eye and told him there was still time to get rid of him if he worked it all out now. Children had always been more of an irritant to Ragnor than anything else so he most likely wouldn't appreciate an invitation to Max's birthday any more than he'd appreciate a one way ticket to Alicante. 

"Yes I suppose so." Magnus sighed, "Nevertheless, we should enjoy ourselves. Perhaps we should take a picnic."

"And if it rains?" Catarina asked, taking another drink from her cup. 

Magnus narrowed his eyes at her, "Don't _jinx_ it. Also, we'll just have the picnic inside. Children are easily occupied." He gestured to Max, who was currently giggling as he crushed pieces of banana between hit fingers. Magnus frowned, he was definitely _not_ cleaning that up by hand. 

Catarina smiled at Max despite the mess he was making, "He really is delightful. Although, it's a good job you cast a glamour this morning. The sun seems to make his skin even more blue."

"Yes Catarina," Magnus rolled his eyes, "because it isn't as if you could see he's blue without the sun."

"Alright, alright. It was a silly thing to say," Catarina replied, "At least he hasn't dropped anything like last time."

"He didn't drop anything last time either," Magnus said, "He _threw_  the plate at that poor woman's head."

"It was hilarious."

"It was horrifying! I must have turned an awful shade of red." He argued, sighing softly, "I've never apologised so much in my life."

" _That_ I can believe." Catarina grinned, wiping her hands on her jeans, "Are we all done? Why don't we go feed the birds down by the river? Come on Madzie, let's put your jacket on." She grabbed Madzie's denim jacket from the back of the chair and moved to help her into it, "No, leave that. We'll take the cake home with us."

Sighing to himself, Magnus turned to his own child, taking in the sight before him. Max had an unreasonable amount of banana stuck to him. Had he even had that much banana on his plate? With a flick of his wrist, the banana mush disappeared, and Max giggled at the tingly feeling that the magic left on his skin as it washed over him. 

"Come along then, Blueberry." Magnus said as he un-clipped the baby from the highchair and lifted him into his arms. Max smiled at him as he made a grab for his face, his chubby fingers patting Magnus's cheek affectionately. Magnus felt the corners of his mouth tugging upwards, "Yes darling, Papa loves you too."


End file.
